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Investigation Spotlights ,
By RT. REV. THOMAS W. McNAMARA
(Msgr. McNamara, director of the Boys Guidance
recently appeared before the Senate sub-committee
investigating juvenile delinquency in Boston. In the -fol
lowing article he records his views of the committee's
work and its findings.)
The United States Senate Sub-Committee investigating
Juvenile Delinquency in this community has come and gone.
The three days of hearings were conducted with dignity and
decorum. Throughout the entire hearing the patience, sy
pathetic understanding and keen questioning of the chairman. Senator Hendrickson of New Jersey. Senator He
mings and their Assistant Counsel, Mr. Beassa, reflect
great credit on our great senatorial body.
Their repeated attempts to dl-*—
rect the testimony to the subject
at issue and cut short ailtnhin-
giaphiral speech making was on
the whole quite successful. The
< iimmittee's unlading courtesy in
respect to local customs and personalities was ItMC',, most notable
and praiseworthy.
Certainly, the Senate Committee Hearing focused public attention on tttta vicious sore of juvenile law breaking. It accentuated
the number and variety of boards
aSd agencies striving to curtail
ajd eradicate the enemies of
atfl agencic
aid eradici
youth, ami
(fining tin;
protect the yolingsttr
this perennially difficult
period Of change from childhood
to young man and womanhood.
U was unfortunate that a certain amount of time was wasted
by the needless defense of the
great hody of our wholesome
young people, as though the Committee Hearing was a blast at our
youth in general. Nothing was
further from the purpose of th<>
Committee than a universal Indictment of our teenagers.
The fact that our piitulc health
I in general is in good condition
does not militate against,
erf as fantastic exaggerate
erf as fantastic
drives for help
and Polio.
' Any VOOtll eo
st, or dflt
■atiop- tlft*
for Heart, Can/ei
million in our com-
whlch records murder.
vandalism. '
muitity
arson. tremendous
breaking and entering, automobile
theft, fatal speeding and assault
is not a fanciful something to be
passed over as growing up pains
Of sclinul hoy pranks. It is not a
situation which can be passed off
The repeated mention of the
home and the religious element Ion
t' ie part of so many of the vtit-
n kSSSS and the committee mteii-
h hi points the finger at two! of
tie great voids in the life of the
Juvenile Delinquent. A rpnewed
r.ijiMiousness on the part of
parents, that tlieir job is pretty
nearly the most important in the
world, should be the first step in
fashioning any plan to help the
, youngster. This, tn many esses,
means parent education in how to
• bring up a child.
A hoy 01 girl brought before the
court for wrong doing la remonstrated with, perhaps restrained,
perhaps pmbatinned. Rut. why
isn't there in existence a panel of
leligious, social and medical advisors to which the parents go.
with which they can be forced if
necessary, to consult over a period
of weeks, for example during a
child's probationary period, so that
the legal remedy may be less
transitory and punitive and more
ramOtUsl and therapeutic. The
Madttional "Pro" is often lightly
tossed aside hv offendei and parent
as inconsequential.
riiK-i'Si ( Bono
The great majority of Ihe lead-
OUT juvenile problem groups
are children who themselves are
deeply disturbed kids, hostile, envious, revengeful, suspicious and
fearful. Some are prc-psyehotic
or lacking in all apparent guilt
and fall under the heading of psy-
i a> psthic personality, in their
antisocial frame of mind they are
impervious to all claims of au-
i surround such youthful person-
nce iinics with the licentious adult,
'tee h" Slaying deviate, the adult pi*--
■fol- fcaSSSt Of liquor, the over-protect-
tee's T~ '" '"er-indulgent parent and
faa have your modern would he
hero of gangland.
We cannot forget that when we.
with no protest, merely pass by
the sex. thrill-ridden magazine or
pocket novel stand of our neighborhood corner store, register our
mlillei cnee. When we. tn silence,
witness the parading of unmoral
and unmoral creatines as entertainment we shame our self re-
speii. When our spinclessncss
makes us fall in line in allowing
our kids unReenily late hours because our neighbors do the like,
we're begging for trouble.
KOI IVO. ATION
The use of vulgar and double
meaning words on the part of very
young children is sometimes unforgivably looked upon aa "cut*
or "smartly precoccious." Open
defiance of home rules of diet.
• cleaning, toilet and hygienic
habits are submitted to, by parent-'
who might otherwise be consider
ed as highly intelligent interested
parents. Household chores for
children, in so many cases, are a
thing of the past and no interest
or concern, let alone love, ts engendered in the heart of the child
for his home. Rather home becomes only a place to sleep, if
necessary, to grab a bite if he
can't get the money to feed at the
corner "Delli" or "restaurant
where the gang hangs" and a
place to flee from to avoid nagging or clashing of angry adult
tongues.
In the realm of the school, both
public and parochial, great strides
have been made by progressive
end sincere superintendents and
their magnificent teaching body.
But more and more public attention and money must be focused
on helping the exceptional child,
the forerunner in most cases of
the delinquent child. He is discoverable at an early age and his
reading and language disabilities
must be cared for.
The official who neglects this
■haaaas of child development, hv
Appropriate tools, tecnmqtics
id training should be at the dis-
aSSl Of our tachera to enable fhein
tli rope with this type of child! At
early stage, place should! he
found for him where he \an
achieve lUCCaM in manual ways as
hi.« hi other dor* in academic projects Our schools should not he
blamed for shortcomings, if and
where they exist, when you Mr
Plain Citizen, think gambling on
ihe dogs and horses is more Important than the children's school
curricula, and prefer to spend
money in punishment rather than
in prevention. The public figure
who "goes to bat for a kid and
urn off" when that child has
run counter to the law is doing
the child a serious disfavor, i-'or
years I've pleaded for the return
of good homely authority, sanctions with some teeth in them, to ;
the school teacher in the school-
i room and the policeman on the
, beat. With the return of such
policies we'd have much less impudence and "wise guyism" in and
] Q"t -of our schools. * -i- —=j.
When a child reaches the probation officer and the COOTS, these
agencies should not have to fear
the pressure ol well intention'd.
but many limes, poorly advised
"special pleaders" lieiallse .losie
or Jimmy's family are "swell people."
Throughout the Committee
Heatings it was evident that Social, Educational, Recreational.
I-egal. Medical and Psychiatric
agencies Kie here to help our
vouth. The one thread that seemed to run through almost all of
the tcsiniony was the need these
hoys and girls had to be permeated
with the spiritual realization that
they are "children of God" and sre
responsible to Him for their ron-
i tiimj.- Snr too long a time this
Insinuation of the spiritual responsibilities int" the life of a
child has been left strictly to the
leligious leaders of the community. Many parents have failed
because they haven't this spiritual
' consciousness themselves
It is the obligation of every individual who has any contact with
a child to instill in him the con-

User has an obligation to determine copyright or other use restrictions prior to publication or distribution. Please contact the archives at reference@ajhsboston.org or 617-226-1245 for more information.

User has an obligation to determine copyright or other use restrictions prior to publication or distribution. Please contact the archives at reference@ajhsboston.org or 617-226-1245 for more information.

Transcript

Investigation Spotlights ,
By RT. REV. THOMAS W. McNAMARA
(Msgr. McNamara, director of the Boys Guidance
recently appeared before the Senate sub-committee
investigating juvenile delinquency in Boston. In the -fol
lowing article he records his views of the committee's
work and its findings.)
The United States Senate Sub-Committee investigating
Juvenile Delinquency in this community has come and gone.
The three days of hearings were conducted with dignity and
decorum. Throughout the entire hearing the patience, sy
pathetic understanding and keen questioning of the chairman. Senator Hendrickson of New Jersey. Senator He
mings and their Assistant Counsel, Mr. Beassa, reflect
great credit on our great senatorial body.
Their repeated attempts to dl-*—
rect the testimony to the subject
at issue and cut short ailtnhin-
giaphiral speech making was on
the whole quite successful. The
< iimmittee's unlading courtesy in
respect to local customs and personalities was ItMC',, most notable
and praiseworthy.
Certainly, the Senate Committee Hearing focused public attention on tttta vicious sore of juvenile law breaking. It accentuated
the number and variety of boards
aSd agencies striving to curtail
ajd eradicate the enemies of
atfl agencic
aid eradici
youth, ami
(fining tin;
protect the yolingsttr
this perennially difficult
period Of change from childhood
to young man and womanhood.
U was unfortunate that a certain amount of time was wasted
by the needless defense of the
great hody of our wholesome
young people, as though the Committee Hearing was a blast at our
youth in general. Nothing was
further from the purpose of th<>
Committee than a universal Indictment of our teenagers.
The fact that our piitulc health
I in general is in good condition
does not militate against,
erf as fantastic exaggerate
erf as fantastic
drives for help
and Polio.
' Any VOOtll eo
st, or dflt
■atiop- tlft*
for Heart, Can/ei
million in our com-
whlch records murder.
vandalism. '
muitity
arson. tremendous
breaking and entering, automobile
theft, fatal speeding and assault
is not a fanciful something to be
passed over as growing up pains
Of sclinul hoy pranks. It is not a
situation which can be passed off
The repeated mention of the
home and the religious element Ion
t' ie part of so many of the vtit-
n kSSSS and the committee mteii-
h hi points the finger at two! of
tie great voids in the life of the
Juvenile Delinquent. A rpnewed
r.ijiMiousness on the part of
parents, that tlieir job is pretty
nearly the most important in the
world, should be the first step in
fashioning any plan to help the
, youngster. This, tn many esses,
means parent education in how to
• bring up a child.
A hoy 01 girl brought before the
court for wrong doing la remonstrated with, perhaps restrained,
perhaps pmbatinned. Rut. why
isn't there in existence a panel of
leligious, social and medical advisors to which the parents go.
with which they can be forced if
necessary, to consult over a period
of weeks, for example during a
child's probationary period, so that
the legal remedy may be less
transitory and punitive and more
ramOtUsl and therapeutic. The
Madttional "Pro" is often lightly
tossed aside hv offendei and parent
as inconsequential.
riiK-i'Si ( Bono
The great majority of Ihe lead-
OUT juvenile problem groups
are children who themselves are
deeply disturbed kids, hostile, envious, revengeful, suspicious and
fearful. Some are prc-psyehotic
or lacking in all apparent guilt
and fall under the heading of psy-
i a> psthic personality, in their
antisocial frame of mind they are
impervious to all claims of au-
i surround such youthful person-
nce iinics with the licentious adult,
'tee h" Slaying deviate, the adult pi*--
■fol- fcaSSSt Of liquor, the over-protect-
tee's T~ '" '"er-indulgent parent and
faa have your modern would he
hero of gangland.
We cannot forget that when we.
with no protest, merely pass by
the sex. thrill-ridden magazine or
pocket novel stand of our neighborhood corner store, register our
mlillei cnee. When we. tn silence,
witness the parading of unmoral
and unmoral creatines as entertainment we shame our self re-
speii. When our spinclessncss
makes us fall in line in allowing
our kids unReenily late hours because our neighbors do the like,
we're begging for trouble.
KOI IVO. ATION
The use of vulgar and double
meaning words on the part of very
young children is sometimes unforgivably looked upon aa "cut*
or "smartly precoccious." Open
defiance of home rules of diet.
• cleaning, toilet and hygienic
habits are submitted to, by parent-'
who might otherwise be consider
ed as highly intelligent interested
parents. Household chores for
children, in so many cases, are a
thing of the past and no interest
or concern, let alone love, ts engendered in the heart of the child
for his home. Rather home becomes only a place to sleep, if
necessary, to grab a bite if he
can't get the money to feed at the
corner "Delli" or "restaurant
where the gang hangs" and a
place to flee from to avoid nagging or clashing of angry adult
tongues.
In the realm of the school, both
public and parochial, great strides
have been made by progressive
end sincere superintendents and
their magnificent teaching body.
But more and more public attention and money must be focused
on helping the exceptional child,
the forerunner in most cases of
the delinquent child. He is discoverable at an early age and his
reading and language disabilities
must be cared for.
The official who neglects this
■haaaas of child development, hv
Appropriate tools, tecnmqtics
id training should be at the dis-
aSSl Of our tachera to enable fhein
tli rope with this type of child! At
early stage, place should! he
found for him where he \an
achieve lUCCaM in manual ways as
hi.« hi other dor* in academic projects Our schools should not he
blamed for shortcomings, if and
where they exist, when you Mr
Plain Citizen, think gambling on
ihe dogs and horses is more Important than the children's school
curricula, and prefer to spend
money in punishment rather than
in prevention. The public figure
who "goes to bat for a kid and
urn off" when that child has
run counter to the law is doing
the child a serious disfavor, i-'or
years I've pleaded for the return
of good homely authority, sanctions with some teeth in them, to ;
the school teacher in the school-
i room and the policeman on the
, beat. With the return of such
policies we'd have much less impudence and "wise guyism" in and
] Q"t -of our schools. * -i- —=j.
When a child reaches the probation officer and the COOTS, these
agencies should not have to fear
the pressure ol well intention'd.
but many limes, poorly advised
"special pleaders" lieiallse .losie
or Jimmy's family are "swell people."
Throughout the Committee
Heatings it was evident that Social, Educational, Recreational.
I-egal. Medical and Psychiatric
agencies Kie here to help our
vouth. The one thread that seemed to run through almost all of
the tcsiniony was the need these
hoys and girls had to be permeated
with the spiritual realization that
they are "children of God" and sre
responsible to Him for their ron-
i tiimj.- Snr too long a time this
Insinuation of the spiritual responsibilities int" the life of a
child has been left strictly to the
leligious leaders of the community. Many parents have failed
because they haven't this spiritual
' consciousness themselves
It is the obligation of every individual who has any contact with
a child to instill in him the con-